Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha Discusses Recent Advances in Artificial Retina
INDIANAPOLIS, IN / ACCESSWIRE/ November 9, 2020 / Have you heard of the artificial retina? This cutting edge field could someday help restore and increase vision for millions of people. Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha, an experienced ophthalmologist, believes that artificial retina is the future of vision care.
“Artificial retina is the most exciting development in ophthalmology in recent memory, in my opinion,” Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha says. “Ophthalmologists have always dreamed of being able to provide a vision for the blind, and artificial retina may allow us to do so.”
Our eyes are immensely complex, Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha points out. A healthy eye can gather light reflected from an object. The light enters the eye, and retinal photoreceptor cells then collects the light, and with photoreceptors, encode it. The signals are then sent to the brain, including the visual cortex, where it is interpreted into sight.
“The eye,” Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha notes, “is an immensely complex and beautiful thing. It’s one of the most complex organs in our body. This complexity and overall importance of vision is part of what drew me to ophthalmology.”
Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha Provides Insight Into Artificial Retina
So how about artificial retina work? Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha says researchers hope to use tiny cameras to collect light as an input, then use retinal encoding to turn what the cameras capture into signals our brains can understand.
“In a sense, with artificial retina, researchers hope to use cameras, software, and computer chips to essentially make mechanical eyes,” Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha states. “This is a simplification, the science is quite complex, but the end goal is to make artificial eyes that can provide vision to those who lost their sight.”
People have been using artificial limbs for centuries. The old wooden peg a pirate may have relied on, however, has been replaced with advanced limbs that can flex and function like a real limb. Now, someone can use a mechanical hand to pick up a glass or shake a hand. Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha respects these breakthroughs and hopes artificial retina can deliver the same to the blind.
“Artificial limbs have come a long way over the last fifty years,” Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha notes. “Now, it’s possible to create functioning limbs. We hope to do the same with artificial retina, developing eyes that can help people see. It’s an exciting area of research.”
How close are we to making artificial eyes a reality? Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha notes that technology has progressed steadily in recent years, and some artificial eyes are already starting to hit the market. Researchers have created eyes that respond to light, and that may someday offer comparable vision, if not better when compared to real human eyes.
“We’re still working on the technologies,” Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha says. “But I can say, the last few years have been incredibly exciting. We may be able to equip blind patients with working, functioning eyes in the near future. That’s a dream come true for myself and my patients.”
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SOURCE: Dr. Amir Reza Hajrasouliha